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[–]LarrySwinger2[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

To tell a big lie is exactly how they achieve their deception. Hitler described this technique in Mein Kampf:

All this was inspired by the principle— which is quite true in itself — that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.

[–]StillLessons 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

What fascinated me when I went and read the beginning of Mein Kampf is that Hitler was basically describing what he saw his enemies in the west already doing. It wasn't that he came up with these ideas on his own. He witnessed what made his enemies successful and said, "Yeah, if we want to be powerful like they are, we need to do the same thing." Puts a very different spin on "the big lie" when you realize this was never a Nazi thing. It's a government thing - all governments, always.